what style?

I went out last night with a good friend of mine. It was an impromptu occasion; I was studying and he just called to say that he was going to meet some of his friends at Necto and listen to them spin and MC. Me being me, I said that I was down like underground.

After we got to the club -which as it turns out was packed, it was the Gothic prom there- we proceeded to head downstairs into the red room. This is where the best music is usually played in Ann Arbor, as far as electronic stuff goes. Anyway, we were sitting down having some drinks, I was sort of looking around at things from different angles with my camera in my hand (as I often do), and a girl next to me turned my way and asked “What style of pictures do you take?”

I had never really given much thought to this particular concept before. I know that I like close-ups, photos that show more of the texture and color of an object than of what the object is. And I know that I like the effects that different lighting situations have, especially when experimenting with various settings on my camera. Not that I have any real knowldege of photography per se, I just enjoy taking pictures.

So, in reply to the girl who had asked me about my style, I told here that I just point the camera at things that I think look neat, and accept what it gives me. She said “Oh, like artsy pictures?” Then I pushed the button, and showed her this:

I’m not sure exactly what to call my style of photography. I’m not really one to label things, not even genres of music. Or, perhaps I just don’t know enough to correctly classify them? Regardless, what I do with my cameras is almost never the same from one occasion to another. I am always trying a new angle, a new perspective, or trying to see what happens if I slow the shutter just a bit, or set it to mix colors or interpret the lighting in an odd way… I am always experimenting. If for no other reason than because I am untrained and know no better. But there is another reason; I love to take pictures. I love to play around with my camera, and zoom way in on the detail in a piece of rotting wood, a spiders web, or the roof of a building across the street. I love to snap picture after picture in a club, or at a friends house; just surveying the scene and documenting the moment. And most of all, I love the results. I’m not saying I’m a good photographer -I don’t even know what would make one a good photographer- all I am saying, is that I like to take pictures.

I am always experimenting, so if I had to say I have a style of photography, it would be “experimental”. But then I’d sound like some kind of pompous asshole who thinks he’s too cool for school.

Thank you so much! I’d love to show some of my work, I just have to invest in having some of them printed and blown up. A friend of mine with a gallery in Kalamzoo has been after me to do that, because she wants to see them for me 🙂

If you like color, check out this link. It is a series of photographs of the sun coming upover Detroit on Memorial Day this year.

Very nice piece, about your Style. I, too, enjoy photography. But since I have no official camera, as some of my counterparts would put it, I use my iPhone. And I have come up some rather disturbingly great shots. I do have my eye on a camera, but until then… I like the photos you have taken thus far. Keep it up. You are really good at it…

Thank you very much! I apologize for having not responded until just now, I’ve been sort of away from my blog for a bit. I am interested in seeing some of the pictures that you have taken on your iPhone. Are they posted anywhere?